Child allegedly locked in abandoned church for punishment

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, May 26, 2010

An 8-year-old Liberty County boy and his two brothers, ages 11 and 1, have been taken into custody after the middle child told authorities he had been locked by his mother in an abandoned church for hours as punishment, left only with a paint can and a roll of toilet paper.

“He revealed he was being isolated as punishment by his mother,” a Texas Child Protective Services caseworker wrote in documents filed with a Liberty County court after they talked to the boy on May 12.

“The punishment consisted of being forced to go to the abandoned church building and remain.”

CPS spokeswoman Gwen Carter said on Tuesday that no charges have been filed against the boy's mother.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Carter said. “We're trying to find out what happened.”

CPS was contacted by police after neighbors told them the woman often left the 8-year-old at the Bethel Baptist Church off of Texas 321.

When the boy was found by the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, the only signs of comfort were two empty water bottles and a small fan besides him, along with the paint can.

According to CPS, the boy said his mother would escort him to the church, while striking him with a yardstick. “He felt the household was shunning him and he was not told by his mother why he was being punished.”

The woman told CPS investigators that she was home-schooling the children.

The three children have different fathers. One father has been incarcerated in Colorado for sexual assault of a minor, Carter said.

CPS has investigated the care of the woman's children at least four previous times since 2001.

In 2005, investigators determined an “uncle” had pinned down the oldest child, then5, and forced him to watch a pornographic video. He soon began acting out sexually with other children at school, telling social workers he couldn't get the images out of his head. The children were not removed because the woman, who had recently taken over her children's care, assured social workers she could care for them.